While legislators keep the Virginia sports betting landscape relatively stable, the state turned in a record month in January.
Virginia sportsbooks took a record $485.5 million in bets, according to a Virginia Lottery release Tuesday. The figure is up nearly 14% from December’s $426.6 million total.
Since Virginia sports betting launched in late January 2021, sportsbooks have taken $3.7 billion in wagers.
Virginia revenue bounces back
Sportsbooks held 8%, generating $39.1 million in gross revenue. That is up 23.9% from December’s $31.5 million in revenue.
The revenue total still trails November’s record $48.3 million. Since launching, Virginia sportsbooks have generated $324.9 million in gross sports betting revenue, good for an 8.8% hold.
Operators reported nearly $17 million in January promo spending, which helped drag taxable adjusted revenue to $18.2 million. The state collected nearly $2.9 million in taxes during the month.
Measuring Virginia sportsbooks
The Virginia Lottery release said four operators reported a net positive in adjusted revenue. There are 11 live operators in the state.
The state does not break out individual sportsbooks in its monthly reports. According to previous Virginia Lottery meeting updates, FanDuel and DraftKings have been clear market leaders.
PointsBet launched in December, making January its first full month of operation. SI Sportsbook and Betway will likely launch by April 2022.
Virginia sports betting legislation updates
Multiple pieces of legislation were introduced this year with the potential to change the VA sports betting landscape.
Efforts to repeal a ban on betting on in-state colleges died in a House committee last month.
“Sometimes these are going to happen illegally but this is looking out after our Virginia students,” Del. David Bulova said during a committee meeting. “This is making sure that we’re not going ahead and putting our seal of approval on that kind of activity.”
Another bill aiming to restrict sportsbook promotional deductions to their first 12 months also fell flat.
